Jesus Film Project - Región de la Araucanía, Chile

We departed the Campamento on Saturday, January 27 to begin our week long Jesus Film Project amongst the Mapuche people of Chile. I was in a group of 14 students and Campus Crusade staff from Chile that would be showing the film in Icalma (just across the border of Argentina in Chile) and two other communities in the area, Merimenucu Alto and Bajo (spelling is most likely wrong).

In Icalma we were able to show the Jesus Film for Children in front of an entire camp of 230 chilean kids. The camp is a government funded project that allows underpriveliged Chilean students to enjoy a week at a camp by the lake with fun and good food. By the Lord's grace the camp director allowed us to show the story of Jesus' life in front of the entire camp.

We also showed the Jesus Film (the last three years of Jesus life taken from the gospel of Luke) in Spanish at a campsite on the lake. Their were probably about 50 people in attendance.

One other highlight of our stay in Icalma was seeing our dinner fall out of a wheel barrow. The church graciously grilled us a sheep for the last night, and early that afternoon as we were getting ready for the movie we saw a tied up sheep fall out of a wheel barrow outside of the church. Needless to say some of the girls in our group were a little heartbroken.

After two days in Icalma we traveled about a half hour down the road to Merimenucu Alto where we stayed and worked with pastor Augustin at the Biblia Abierta (Open Bible Church). We should the movie there twice and had about 30 people at each showing which is really amazing considering an hour long walk would only take you past 5 other houses. We were really in the middle of nowhere, the community had just gotten electricity the week before, but it was absolutely beautiful there.

For our last leg of the Jesus Film Trip we drove about two miles down river to Merimenucu Bajo where we stayed at the Emmanuel Pentecostal Church. This community had a few more houses and we should the movie three different times to crowds of 50, 30, and 20. One of the highlights of this stay was the grilled goat dinner that we enjoyed our final night. The pastor's family did a terrific job of seasoning and grilling the goat meat.

The Jesus Film was overall a terrific experience. It was very stretching to live in such rustic conditions and to only be able to communicate with people in Spanish. It was also heart breaking to hear some of the Mapuche's tell us that they can't come to church because their god will be mad at them. While at the same time it was extremely encouraging to see how real and powerful the message of the gospel is to the pastor's of the churches, their families, and their church bodies. I will continue to think about and pray for the Mapuche people. God is definitely working amongst them, but still many of them have a lot of barriers built up toward Christianity.

One verse that kept ringing over and over in my head during this trip was Romans 10:14-15 "How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!""

I feel so blessed and so unworthy to have been the feet to bring the grace and truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Mapuche people.

John 1:14
"The Word (Jesus) became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."